


A History of London

by squidgie



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Community: comment_fic, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 05:38:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidgie/pseuds/squidgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set at the very beginning of Torchwood, S1E1, Jack's memory of London throughout history haunts him as he and the team start to work a case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A History of London

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mangacrack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangacrack/gifts).



> Written for the comment_fic community

'London never changes,' Jack thinks, as he walks in the torrential downpour, Owen, Toshiko, and Suzie at his side. He sees the body in the distance, surrounded by worklights, then glances over to the nearby street corner. He smiles, thinking about the moment he'd met Alice's mother all those years ago - on that same corner - as she misstepped from the curb and almost tumbled into traffic. That's a ghost Jack feels often, just out of his reach.

He leads his team to the body, then looks around. The constable that was standing just off to the side of the Torchwood SUV is missing, but Jack knows she's close. He looks up into the carpark, spotting her a couple of floors up, nodding to her.

Thinking back, he lets the historical landscapes of London flow from his mind, trying to remember what was there before the carpark. Movies... There was a cinema there back in the 40s, taken out by the Luftwaffe during the early days of World War II. He'd taken Clark there, but doesn't remember what movie was playing. He just remembers sitting in a secluded section of the back, Clark's fingers darting out, touching during the darkest parts of the film, and a kiss stolen as the reels were changed on the projector. He'd lost Clark later that night, taken from him by a German bomb before they could even spend a full night together.

Glancing back, he has to dig deep into his memory, but there's something... " _Collette_..." he says quietly, a muted, painful smile passing quickly on his face. He'd lost her in the great London fire of 1666, though she'd already been showing signs of the plague. Still, it'd doubly hurt when he lost her, since she'd just confided to him that she was carrying his child. Her loss haunted him every time he saw a newborn, and he'd promised himself to never get _that_ close to another person ever again. 

London, the eternal city. It never changes.

He turns his attention back to the situation at hand, the passing thought of Collette and her pregnancy flashing through his mind. As he opens his mouth, a drop of rain dances on his lip, bringing a familiar taste to mind. He smiles, then says, "Estrogen..."


End file.
